ISCI794 TL Interviews: Part 2

 

Teacher Librarian: BT Bouton    School: Camp Road Middle School

Shared Foundation: Collaborate

BT Bouton is the finest school librarian I know, and may ever know. She has served as the teacher librarian at Camp Road Middle since its inception, and at Fort Johnson Middle School before that, and as an ELA teacher in a private school for over a decade before that. I had the great fortune to work alongside her for 3 years, and have benefitted incalculably from her wisdom, generosity, and carefully curated expertise. She is the person who taught me, in word and deed, that for the library to be the beating heart of the school's learning community, the librarian must embed herself as an instructional ally and collaborative partner with as wide a swath of the staff and faculty as possible. She is a valued member of the school's leadership team, and regularly carves out time to attend grade level and department meetings, professional development sessions, and regional and state librarian conferences, committee meetings, and special events. She also volunteers to serve as a mentoring librarian for graduate students and first-year professionals in addition to fulfilling her role within the Camp Road community. But her passion for the power of collaboration extends beyond her own partnerships and into the instructional lessons she teaches to 6th-8th grade students in and outside the library. Mrs. Bouton hosts ELA classes from every grade on a biweekly basis, and delivers lessons on topics from grammar and writing to research, local history, and resume building that offer students the chance to explore new concepts and deepen their understanding of subject matter being covered in their classrooms. She builds independent work and group discussions into her lessons, and uses Google Classroom to post resources that accompany each lesson. Whenever a lesson includes some type of assessment of student learning, she coordinates with classroom teachers to grant access to the digital submissions so that they may be used for a class grade, if desired. 

Mrs. Bouton also seeks out opportunities to work with teachers from other departments. For one 7th grade science teacher, she curates a collection of resources on various endangered species ahead of a student research project, and then hosts the class for a lesson on exploring databases and citing sources. An 8th grade social studies class uses the library each year for an information scavenger hunt during a Civil War unit. She also works closely with the school Spanish teacher to purchase and provide library books in Spanish to support student language learning.

In addition to her professional collaborations, Mrs. Bouton goes out of her way to host recreational events for student enrichment. She invites 6th graders to monthly fun lunches where they are able to play with Lego, giant floor puzzles, Ozobots, and Keva planks. As a library fundraiser, she puts on a Bingo night for 6th and 7th graders each year, and she puts the money toward hosting schoolwide author visits. When students expressed interest in forming a Battle of the Books team last year, she purchased copies of all of the requisite books and hosted the team for reading and quiz practices. She also plans, coordinates, and puts on an annual Literacy Night at the school for students and their families, at which there are reading, writing, building, research, and creative play stations that cater to younger siblings, school students, and parents. It is difficult to fathom how Mrs. Bouton juggles so many responsibilities, and yet she is never too busy to take on a new duty, offer her insights to a new teacher, or read and recommend a new book. Students look forward to library day every week, coworkers seek out her counsel and insight, and administrators are quick to send district staff and directors up to show off her library program every time they visit the building.